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North Oconee boy's golfers wins third consecutive Region 8-AAA title

ROYSTON | Paced by David Mackey’s 1-under 71 Tuesday at Highland Walk, North Oconee won its third consecutive Region 8-AAA title and sixth crown in the last eight seasons.

Mackey earned medalist honors for the third straight season. Davis Verner and Akshay Patel followed with 74s, and Chris Dunlap and C.J. Griffin tied for fifth with 76s.

Oconee County finished third with a team total of 326. Jackson County was fourth with a 328. East Jackson was eighth with a 369.

The Class AAA state tournament will be held May 19 at Belle Meade Country Club in Thompson. In the meantime, the Titans will play in the Oglethorpe Invitational on Monday at Jennings Mill Country Club and will play at The Invite, hosted by Gainesville, at Chattahoochee Country Club in two weeks.

BOYS TENNIS

MON DON, BCA QUALIFY FOR STATE: At the Athens Tennis Center, Monsignor Donovan and Bethlehem Christian both had players qualify for the GISA Class AA state team tournament on April 29 in Augusta and the individual state tournament on May 2 in Macon.

Bethlehem Christian’s Harrison LaBolitta finished third in singles and also qualified for the state tournament, as did Aaron Clifford and Aaron Gano.

Monsignor Donovan’s David Bell was named the boys region coach of the year.

BOYS SOCCER

JACKSON COUNTY 3, OCONEE COUNTY 2 (PKs): At Watkinsville, the Warriors lost in their regular-season finale but still finished as the champions of Region 8-AAA.

Kyle Fromm scored Oconee County’s first goal off an assist from Carlos Ruiz-Ramos and Chase Kane scored the second goal on a penalty kick. It was Kane’s 27 goal of the season, tying the school record. The Warriors (15-3, 6-1) – ranked No. 2 in Class AAA – will open play in the state playoffs on May 1, hosting Cross Keys.

NORTH OCONEE 4, MADISON COUNTY 0: At Bogart, the Titans completed the regular season at 9-6 with a shutout victory over the Red Raiders.

Reed Blevins scored the game’s first goal with 1:33 remaining in the first half off an assist from Lucas Sizemore. Matthew Wingate made it 2-0 with 33:10 left in the second half off an assist from Blevins and Garrett Walker scored with 16:31 remaining on a penalty kick. Sebastian Sanchez completed the scoring at 4:16 off an assist from Daniel Mendsen.

John Forbes (four saves) and Juan Martinez (two saves) teamed up in goal for the shutout.

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN 2, COVENANT CHRISTIAN 0: At Cumming, Calvin Koslowsky and Nate Daniels scored for the Lions, who got the shutout in goal from Joe Zehna.

ATHENS ACADEMY 4, CHESTATEE 1: At Athens Academy, the Spartans – who have already secured the No. 1 seed from Area 3-A – got two goals from Bridget Higgins in a non-area victory over Chestatee.

Higgins was followed by Carly Settles and Emily Blume, who each scored a goal. Whitney Stewart had two assists and Nilu Vyas contributed one assist.

Athens Academy (12-3) will host Monroe Area at 7:30 p.m. today. The Spartans will begin state tournament play on May 7 at home.

NORTH OCONEE 7, MADISON COUNTY 1: At Bogart, Jessie Denney tallied four goals as the Titans completed the regular season without a loss.

Denney was followed by Ariel Byrom (two goals) and Leah Smith (one goal).

North Oconee (13-0-2) – ranked No. 9 in Class AAA – will host Decatur at 6 p.m. on May 2 in the first round of the state playoffs.

MONSIGNOR DONOVAN 15, MEMORIAL DAY 0: At Monsignor Donovan, the Rams had four players with multi-goal performances as they easily defeated Memorial Day in the first round of the GISA Class AA state playoffs.

Elizabeth Allen led the way with four goals and was followed by Ashley Burns (three goals), Haleigh Nixon (two goals) and Caroline Borst (two goals).

Monsignor Donovan (10-0) will host a second-round game next week against a to-be-determined opponent.

BASEBALL

JACKSON COUNTY 4, EAST JACKSON 1: At Commerce, Nick Corso had two hits, two stolen bases and two runs to lead the Panthers, who improved to 18-6 overall and 9-4 in Region 8-AAA.

Jase Latty (3-0) was the winning pitcher, going four innings and allowing five hits to go with two strikeouts.

Joel Ellis had one hit and two RBIs, Patrick Overstreet had a hit and a run, Ben Brissey had a hit and a run and Jacob Banks had a hit and an RBI.

The Panthers, who can do no worse than finishing in fourth place in the region, will close out the regular season at 5:55 p.m. today at Hart County. East Jackson (4-19, 1-12) will play at 5:55 p.m. today at Oconee County.

COMMERCE 6, PRINCE AVENUE CHRISTIAN 0: At Bogart, Cal Garner pitched six strong innings with three hits and five strikeouts as the Tigers improved to 13-11 overall and 8-9 in Region 8-A.

Chandler Rogers had two hits and two RBIs and he was followed by Keenan Lord (two hits) and Drew Whitfield (two hits, one RBI).

Commerce will host Prince Avenue at 5:55 p.m. Thursday. The Wolverines will play at 5 p.m. today at Athens Academy.

WINDER-BARROW 7, APALACHEE 5: At Winder, Tyler Hamrick earned the victory in relief, pitching two innings and giving up five hits and two runs. He came on in relief of senior Thomas Brown, who in his first start of the season went five innings with two earned runs, four hits, four walks and five strikeouts.

The Bulldoggs (15-9, 9-5 in Region 8-AAAAA) were led at the plate by Hunter Jackson (three hits, two RBIs) and Alex Childers (three hits, including a double).

Apalachee (9-15, 4-10) was led by Chance Rodriguez (two hits, one RBI), Joey White (two hits), Aaron Carley (one hit, two RBIs) and Hayden Hubler (two hits).Winder-Barrow will host Flowery Branch at 5:55 p.m. today. Former Bulldoggs standout Dustin McNally, who played at both Middle Georgia and Georgia, will be inducted into the Winder-Barrow Wall of Fame and will throw out the first ball. Apalachee will play at 5:55 p.m. today at Clarke Central.

Will Miller had two hits, a run and an RBI and was followed by Michael Santamaria (one hit), Drew Richardson (two hits), Will Corry (one hit, one RBI) and Will Divers (one hit).

Athens Academy will host Prince Avenue Christian at 5 p.m. today.

MONSIGNOR DONOVAN 6, BRIARWOOD 1: At Monsignor Donovan, Will Keen pitched a complete-game four-hitter with nine strikeouts as the Rams won their first GISA Region 1-AA game of the season.

The Monsignor Donovan offense was led by Colton Garrison (two hits, one RBI), Michael Middlebrooks (one hit, three RBIs) and Luis Imery (one hit, one RBI).

The Rams will host Covenant Academy at 4:30 p.m. today.

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN 12, COVENANT CHRISTIAN 0 (four innings): At Watkinsville, the Lions improved to 12-1 as Will Smith had three hits – including a home run – and four RBIs and Harrison Ricketts pitched a complete-game two-hitter with 10 strikeouts.

Westminster Christian, which is 7-0 in GICAA region play, will host Horizon Christian on Thursday.

LATE FROM MONDAY

BASEBALL

NORTH OCONEE 11, ELBERT COUNTY 10: At Bogart, the Titans scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a Region 8-AAA victory over visiting Elbert County.

North Oconee was led on offense by Brandon Gaubert (three hits, four RBIs), Bradley Glenn (one hit, two RBIs), Carter Warden (two hits, one run) and Brian Mauldin (two hits, three RBIs).

Evan Meade pitched the final two innings to earn the victory, allowing no hits and striking out three.

The Titans (12-11, 8-4) will play at 5:55 p.m. today at Elbert County.

ATHENS CHRISTIAN 15, PINECREST ACADEMY 5 (five innings): At Cumming, the Eagles scored nine runs in the third inning to pull away from Pinecrest Academy and claim their 20th victory of the season.

Lucas Reynolds (6-0) earned the mound victory, pitching five innings with five hits and three earned runs.

Austin Turgeon had four hits, four runs and two RBIs, and he was followed by Brett Branton (two hits, four runs, three RBIs), Daniel Shealy (four hits, five RBIs), Stephen Logan (two hits) and Andrew Hayes (one hit, two runs). Athens Christian recorded 15 hits on the day.

The Eagles (20-2, 13-2 in Region 8-A) were scheduled to host Providence Christian on Tuesday.

JACKSON COUNTY 4, HART COUNTY 2: At Jefferson, Coleman Barbee (4-2) pitched a complete-game seven-hitter with six strikeouts as the Panthers improved to 17-6 overall and 8-4 in Region 8-AAA.

Patrick Overstreet had two hits – including a home run – and two RBIs, Joel Ellis had two hits and two runs and Andrew Fogarty added one hit and one RBI.

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN 2, HORIZION CHRISTIAN 1: At Watkinsville, C.J. Smith threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts as the Lions clinched first place in the GICAA’s A-East Region.

BOYS GOLF

ATHENS ACADEMY VICTORIOUS: At Jennings Mill Country Club, the Spartans won their third consecutive Area 2-A title and had four players in the top five as they carded a 301 to claim the championship.

Kyle Mueller led Athens Academy with a score of 1-under 71 to take medalist honors, the third time he’s won the tournament. He was followed by James Hylton, who finished second with a 73, Nicholas Manfredi (78), Joe Jordan (79), Lewis Clark (85) and Richard Ferguson (94).

Athens Christian was led by Christian Pickerell, who shot an 81 as the Eagles finished third with a 344. George Walton was second with a 319 and Pinecrest Academy finished fourth with a 348.

All four teams advance to sectionals on May 5.

RAMS WIN REGION TITLE: At Belle Mede Country Club in Thompson, Eric Baker carded a 78 to lead Monsignor Donovan to the GISA Region 1-AA championship. The Rams finished with a 336, leading Bethlehem Christian, Thomas Jefferson and Briarwood Academy.

Adam Walden of Thomas Jefferson was medalist with a 1-under 71.

Baker was named to the all-region team and Monsignor Donovan coach Bill Bowdoin was named the region’s coach of the year.

The Rams will compete at the Class AA state tournament on Monday at Pine Lakes Golf Course on Jekyll Island.

GIRLS GOLF

ATHENS ACADEMY WINS AREA TITLE: At Jennings Mill Country Club, Anna Buchanan carded a 76 to earn medalist honors for the third consecutive year and led the Spartans to their third straight Area 2-A championship. Wynn Ivy shot a 126 for the Spartans.

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN 6, HERITAGE 0: At Watkinsville, the Lions clinched a playoff berth with a shutout victory over Heritage.

Jack Dobson led the way with a hat trick. Caleb Thomas, Hayes Bunting and John Koslowsky scored a goal each. Joe Zehna recorded two assists and was followed by Daniel Schulz, Dobson and Greg Meredith, who had one assist apiece.

BOYS TENNIS

OCONEE COUNTY 3, DECATUR 1: At Watkinsville, the Warriors got a singles victory and two doubles wins to defeat visiting Decatur in the first round of the Class AAA state tournament.

In singles, Chandler Shields won 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2. In doubles, the No. 1 team of Zach Miner and Dan Madden won 6-1, 6-1 and the No. 2 team of Landen Benson and Venya Wilson won 6-0, 6-1.

GIRLS TENNIS

OCONEE COUNTY 3, DECATUR 2: At Watkinsville, the Warriors earned two singles victories and a doubles victory to defeat Decatur in the first round of the Class AAA state tournament.

In singles, Katy Kane won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 and Caroline McElhannon won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2. In doubles, the No. 2 team of Emily Miner and Jenna Bradley won 6-0, 6-3.

Defending state singles champion Katie Scherer won her third straight region singles crown without dropping a game, culminating in a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Briarwood’s Sage Havrilla.

Coach David Bell was named the region’s coach of the year.

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